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Bell Canada starts 21meg mobile broadband
03 November 2009
Bell Canada has launched its HSPA service, three days ahead of the launch by rival operator Telus
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[Bell Canada]
[HSPA]
[Telus]
[mobile broadband]
[Rogers]
[Telstra]
[AT&T]
Comment: There’s an intriguing disparity in views on what constitutes mobile broadband north and south of the US-Canada border. In the US, companies such as AT&T are planning HSPA at 7.2 megabits — though it and Verizon Wireless are also investing in LTE for the future. But Canadian operators —Bell Canada and Telus — are following the example of Telstra in Australia and a number of European and Asian companies and pushing HSPA to 21 megabits peak
Bell Canada is launching its new mobile broadband network, several months ahead of schedule — and a few days ahead of its rival, Telus. The launch will enable two of Canada’s mobile competitors to offer the Apple iPhone in competition with a third, Rogers.
All three companies are building HSPA networks, and Bell is claiming maximum speeds of 21 megabits a second, with a population coverage of 93% of the country.
The Bell Canada network, built at a cost of $1 billion, will be compatible with the majority of global networks.
CEO George Cope noted the emergence of new cell phone players, such as Québecor’s Vidéotron and Dave Wireless and Public Mobile, in the coming months.
Bell Canada originally planned to schedule the launch for just before the February 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
“The launch of our new network — months ahead of schedule — underlines that the Bell team continues to deliver on our strategic imperatives to accelerate wireless in Canada and to invest in next-generation broadband networks,” said Cope.
Bell is planning to launch devices for the new network, which include the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Samsung Omnia II, the Nokia 6350 and 2730, and the Novatel U999 Turbo Stick and MiFi 2372 mobile hotspot.
Telus plans to launch its HSPA service on November 5 2009, also offering up to 21 megabits. GTB
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